Guard No. 47

I honestly don’t know what I expected from the film Guard No. 47. Perhaps a bit of a war film, maybe a little action. I'm not saying there’s none of that, but it consists only of cuts and memories of the main character, Josef Douša, about the trenches. The blending of reality with memories is indeed powerful and intense, and along with Karel Roden's performance in the lead role, these are the film's biggest positives. It’s nothing more than a story about a love triangle and the consequences that such a situation can have. Sometimes, it simply doesn’t pay off to save someone’s life. Within ten to fifteen minutes, the basic plot is established, and it is almost immediately resolved. The film offers absolutely no surprises and, from a screenwriting perspective, is a classic story that doesn’t stand out in any way. It mainly serves as a great opportunity for Roden, who truly puts on a performance, and in moments when he has to play deaf, he is absolutely perfect. Besides his appearance, his unforgettable voice also helps him in that regard. Lucia Siposová and Václav Jiráček beside him look like two students who have just enrolled at film school and already think they can play in the big league. Their acting is not very convincing and lacks believability. They are not characters; they merely play them. Roden is the character; Roden is Douša. Speaking of those actors, I must also mention Vladimír Dlouhý, who is incredibly slimy and the second-best actor in the film after Roden. Filip Renč managed to create a film that doesn’t have as much potential as it might seem. It is essentially an intimate film about a man who is not living a nice life but rather suffering, and it doesn’t seem like that will ever change. (03/03/2013)

Karel Roden - good. Vladimir Dlouhý - good. Václav Jiráček - terrible. Lucia Siposová - only good to look at. Cinematography - beautiful. Music - decent. Direction - traditional Renč, or weak and not very interesting. I can imagine this film at 8:00 pm on Sunday on TV, shortened to an hour and a half, or two parts. It wasn’t a good fit for the movie theater. Two and a bit. (28/08/2009)

Probably the best movie by Filip Renč and the first of its kind, where after watching it, I didn't feel the need to be enthusiastic about my dance steps or satisfy my shopping cravings. I don't particularly like this director because of his music video-like and mostly commercial aesthetics, so I can't give it more than four stars, even if I wanted to. I don't take away from the film its decent craftsmanship, good camera work, or soundtrack, but it seems to me that the director is always playing for effect, so the characters overact a little, displaying overly exaggerated emotions. The music and visuals aggressively attack the viewer's senses - and maybe I am just biased because I don't agree with Renč's political and lobbying contacts and business deals. Overall impression: 60%. (31/12/2009)

Renč's version of the film is fortunately quite different from the previous adaptations by Rovenský and Haas. We can find differences on all levels, from the setting in the winter landscape, the accentuation of the fighting in the trenches to the completely differently portrayed relationship between the Douša family - even their elder son is missing and the spaces of the inn and the cemetery are very important. The merchant became a gravedigger and the aged minister got a lot of space. Yet the main motif remains, as well as the oppressive atmosphere, but the motivations of the main characters' actions are more akin to today. The morality of the true rural people of the 1920s is now incomprehensible to the wider world. In addition to the beautiful images, the film also offers excellent performances by Roden and Vladimír Dlouhý, but unfortunately, their teammates Siposová and Jiráček are very weak. Siposová at least managed to be stylized, but Jiráček never became a real actor, although he had many opportunities to do se. (23/09/2020)